


cheer for me

by wintae



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fem!Mark, Friends to Lovers, Genderbending, be prepared for more wintae and other ships in the future, fem!taeil, fem!ten, im just a shameless wintae ho, kun is the best character in this whole story, larger mention of sex, the wintae in this fic is unnecessary, this is a new thing, tiny mention of alcohol, well SOMEONE needed to write cheerleader!taeil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7855072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintae/pseuds/wintae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>childhood friends taeil, a cheerleader, and jaehyun, a basketball player, deal with having feelings for each other. ft. boy cheerleader sicheng, really in love with sicheng taeyong, indifferent kun, ten with a Healthy Sex Life. starring maria as spawn of satan</p>
            </blockquote>





	cheer for me

“Taeil-noona…” Jaehyun whines, throwing his head back to look up at her. Taeil cocks an eyebrow at her friend and huffs. 

“What do you want?” she asks, using a sweet tone that does not match the face she’s making Jaehyun smiles at her and flutters his lashes.

“Can you get me a glass of water? I’m really in the zone here,” Jaehyun replies, changing his smile to a pout after seeing Taeil’s hesitations. Taeil gives in with another noise of disdain and sashays out of the room. It takes Jaehyun way too long to return to his textbook after watching her go. 

~~

So, Jaehyun is very, very fucked. He met Taeil at an incredibly young age (as in, pictures of her at his baby shower and birth). They were destined to be friends as their parents were incredibly close since their own young ages. Taeil was born 3 years before Jaehyun, but is only 2 grades above him in school. Taeil has seen him through a lot of bullshit- fighting with kids on the playground, kissing girls at the middle school dance, puberty voice cracks, seeing him naked as a kid- all of the fun stuff. Jaehyun doesn’t think that criteria puts him high on the list for potential boyfriend material. 

There’s still a glimmer of hope in him, though. He’s seen Taeil at her worst, too. He held her hair when she got drunk the first time, even though Jaehyun was too young to party himself. He was the one to hold her when she had her first breakup, and while she did look pretty ugly with runny makeup and blotchy skin, Jaehyun really liked how she made him feel like a hero. He has seen her upset over small things, like a stain on her favorite dress, or losing a video game. He’s seen her full-on sobbing after getting a bad grade on an essay and after watching Marley & Me. He’s seen it all, and he still loves her to the world and back. 

She could feel the same way, if he does, right? 

~~

Jaehyun and Taeil are very in sync with each other. Jaehyun attends the cheer competitions, and Taeil comes to his basketball games. They have a tradition to go out to breakfast at five AM the Monday of each finals/midterm week, since before Jaehyun had ever taken a final. He woke up at ass-o-clock to wish her luck on her college entrance exams and she did so before he left for a basketball competition 1000 miles away. Taeil teases Jaehyun for being a heartbreaker and “fulfilling the jock cliche” while Jaehyun teases Taeil for being a ditzy cheerleader, even though she got close to perfect on her entrance exam. (“It was the coffee and muffin you brought me. I forgot about eating until you handed it to me. I owe my whole future to you, Jaehyun.” “That’s giving me more of a reason to not buy you coffee; it’s only proving me that you owe me!”) It’s not for real, though- Taeil is a major dork and loves video games too much to be considered entirely girly, and Jaehyun is a legitimate teddy bear when it comes to anything. 

Jaehyun really only breaks up with the girls he’s dated because he misses Taeil too much when his time is taken up by another girl. The girl could be supermodel gorgeous and super sweet, but she wouldn’t be Taeil. 

~~

“There’s a new guy in your grade,” Taeil says while driving him to school. Jaehyun nods, remembering Kun mentioning that to him the other day. 

“Yeah, the Chinese dude, right?” Jaehyun replies. Kun was talking about how he was surprised he was chosen to represent the school, since while he’s a great basketball player and hangs out with Jaehyun, he really doesn’t talk that much- half unfamiliar language, half he doesn’t give a shit. He then understood why when they told him he moved from China. Kun then described that the kid’s small eyes tripled in size when he introduced himself in Mandarin. He said he’ll bring him to the lunch table so Taeyong can ogle him properly, causing the ridiculously thin guy to begin to cough violently as Kun smirked. 

“Yeah. He’s trying out for the squad after school today.” Taeil swerves into the school parking lot towards the senior spaces. “I’ll be a little late to drive you home, so you can find another ride or wait. Text me your decision later, okay?” Jaehyun nods as Taeil slides into her spot. He also notes that tidbit of information for Taeyong to scream over.

~~

Kun walks over to them during lunch with the new kid in tow. Sicheng- that was his name. Jaehyun sat next to Sicheng in math and helped him with a few problems. It wasn’t a bother to Jaehyun, who began working on his homework after glancing at the notes for half a minute; Taeyong ended up being the real issue. They were still talking about Sicheng when Kun began walking up. 

“No, Taeyong, for the last time, I did not pay that much attention to his lips! Stop asking me about- Hello, Kun! Hello, Sicheng,” Jaehyun is glad that they’re there so he can laugh at Taeyong’s terrible attempt at flirting (read: stuttering and sputtering) and stop him from asking him more details about Sicheng that he doesn’t care about. Kun nods nonchalantly and Sicheng waves cheerfully with a smile. Taeyong chokes on his own spit and begins to cough violently. 

“Hello, Jaehyun,” Sicheng says carefully. Jaehyun nods, confirming the pronunciation, making Sicheng smile wider and sending Taeyong into another fit of coughing. “Is your friend okay?” Sicheng looks genuinely concerned about Taeyong and it makes both Kun and Jaehyun start to laugh.

“No, he’s just too gay to handle himself,” Jaehyun says, earning himself a slap on the arm. Kun turns to translate that to Sicheng and speaks fast enough that Sicheng has understood it by the time Taeyong has lunged over the table to put his hand over Kun’s mouth. Ten had walked up at some point and laughs at the spectacle. 

“Lee Taeyong, smooth as always,” she says, stealing about half of his fries before Taeyong could stop her, as he was trying to place himself back into his seat with a smidge of pride. Ten is a cheerleader with a great reputation of a healthy sex life, as she says to the multiple men she’s kicked in the balls for calling her a slut. It’s true that she sleeps around a lot with both boys and girls. Jaehyun has been one of them 3 times and knows to not tell Taeyong (read: Ten’s gay, overprotective best friend) anymore afterwards. 

Ten knows her way around. She knows all the makeout spots and the places she can even risk a blowjob or fingering in the school. She knows the sexual preferences of most of the basketball team, a third of the cheer squad, and probably an eighth of the rest of the student body by experience alone. Jaehyun isn’t sure if she has a perfect memory or if she keeps detailed notes. He realizes he doesn’t really want to think about that or ever find out. 

Either way, Ten is good company when she isn’t flirting with someone else. She has been a bundle of sunshine since they first met, and Jaehyun is grateful to have known her. 

“So Jaehyun, how’s your wimping out going?” Ten asks with an innocent smile. Jaehyun sticks his tongue out at her. On second thought, Jaehyun would like to take back any nice thing he’s said about Ten. She is a demon. 

“Like you’re any better, Ten,” Taeyong scoffs. Ten, Jaehyun, and Kun all look at him in surprise. Taeyong never talks back to Ten. Also, Ten has nothing to hide. It’s the whole damn point of a healthy sex life like hers. Taeyong just scowls at Ten before taking a long sip of his Diet Coke. Kun and Jaehyun turn to Ten with puzzled faces. Ten just sighs and runs a hand through her bob-length hair. Jaehyun shrugs at Kun and he turns to his pizza. Sicheng spent the whole time gnawing on his chicken with a content look. It looks like Taeyong will have to find a way to trump over chicken to get to Sicheng’s affections. 

“Taeyong, can you give me a ride after practice?” Jaehyun says to break the silence. 

“Why isn’t Taeil taking you?” Taeyong responds. 

“We have extended practice because new kid here wants on the team,” Ten answers for him, jutting her chin at Sicheng. Taeyong nods and Jaehyun swears he can see a physical light bulb above Taeyong’s head. 

“Uh, actually, I promised Ten I would take her home today! I wanted to talk to the coach a little after practice anyways,” Taeyong says hurriedly. Ten is about to protest until Taeyong gives her a look and she nods in slow motion. Jaehyun sighs and turns to Kun, who is reading his phone with great disinterest. 

“Kun-ge,” Jaehyun pleads. 

“No.”

“Please? We live so close to each other. I’ll even walk from your house to mine if you want.”

“No.”

“I’ll buy you milk tea.”

“...okay, but you can’t say anything during the ride. And get me a large.” Jaehyun smiles. Ten knows her way sensually; Jaehyun knows his way manipulatively. 

~~

Jaehyun learned manipulation by practicing on Taeil until it works. He doesn’t ever push anyone into anything huge, like sex or something. He just does little things, like a ride home or a frappuccino. One time, he used it to get himself a date to senior prom when he was still in middle school. His friend Mira had needed a date to prom that wouldn’t do anything stupid like kiss her or try to have sex with her at an after-party. He said he’d take her, and she didn’t even have to take pictures with him. It worked out, and he ended up meeting Ten that night. 

That was also the night that he had the conversation that spiked his thoughts of having feelings for Taeil. He had been talking to Ten in the boys bathroom lounge area about their relationship. 

“It sounds to me like you have a crush on her,” Ten had said with raised eyebrows and a knowing smirk. Jaehyun had protested for a bit, but Ten shook her head at everything he said. 

“I don’t know,” he finally conceded. “I never really thought about her that way. I mean, why would she date the guy she’s known since prenatal? No, she’s seen me embarrass myself too much to actually like me.”

Ten had cocked her head and pursed her lips. “Well, I mean, you’ve seen her at her worst too, right?” Jaehyun thought for a bit and nodded. “And you love her.” Jaehyun’s eyes widened, like Ten had just told him the true meaning of life. He turned to her, but she only laughed a bit before waving goodbye to find her date. 

~~

Jaehyun wants to hold Taeil so much right now, and she isn’t even sad. Really, she’s not doing anything. She’s just standing at her locker with a small smile on her lips as she shuffles her things. 

Taeil looks at her mirror to check her hair. She catches Jaehyun looking at her in the mirror, but when she turns around, he’s not there. There’s a sea of students, and quite a lot of black t-shirts and curly, brown hair. She furrows her brows in confusion. She shuts her locker and saunters off to Psychology, thinking about Jaehyun. 

~~

Taeil likes to think of herself as a confident girl. She doesn’t think she has any major flaws, tries to not capitalize the minor ones, and works on her weaknesses the best she can. When Jaehyun started peeking his way into her thoughts in a romantic light, Taeil had been hopeful she’d be able to handle it without a catch. She knew her way around Jaehyun like her own house. She could talk to him easily and joke with him freely. This transition would go by without a hitch, right?

Figuring out she was wrong was a slap in the face. 

Thinking of Jaehyun in a romantic light was a whole new ballgame. His eyes became dreamier and she couldn’t look for too long without wanting to drown into him. His dimples went from endearing to unbearable. She paid more attention to his arms when he hugged her. 

One of the worst parts was that she found that she didn’t know him as well as she thought. 

She had thought of him as the boy who refused to admit that she was better than him at video games for so long that she didn’t notice how he changed- how he grew, how he matured, and the other little differences. Now that she is noticing that, she can’t stand it. 

“Can’t stand what?” Ten says as she grabs her water. They were just beginning their first practice with Sicheng as an official member. He had crushed they mock tryout they had him do and is incredibly willing to learn. Ten told them of his previous cheerleading history she learned of after cornering Kun and making him pay attention to her, so they were excited to have him. 

“Oh, did I say that out loud?” Taeil replies sheepishly. Ten cocks an eyebrow and Taeil scurries away in an attempt to stop an interrogation. Her efforts are futile, because they are when anyone goes against Ten. Eventually, the whole squad has legitimately gathered around her as she spills her feelings. 

“I was pretty sure you were a robot before,” Maria comments, “but this proves otherwise.” Taeil glares at the freshman, but she doesn’t have the heart to get mad at any of her younger cheerleaders. Or anyone else, for that matter. Besides, Taeil knows she has a particularly hard time talking about her emotions. 

“Well, girls,” Ten starts. “And Sicheng,” she adds after a beat. “We both know that neither of them are going to do anything about this shit, so we must form a plan of action to set them up.”

“Really, Ten?” Taeil groans.

“Yes, Taeil. You need to get laid and I feel bad enough for fucking Jaehyun when he likes you.”

“Wait, he likes me?”

“Yes!” 

“Wait, you guys fucked?”

“Not the point here, Taeil.” 

~~

Taeil is on edge whenever she’s near Jaehyun for a week, which is rather tiring considering how much time they spend together. He was in her room for the whole entirety of Sunday. Taeil is about to combust at any given second. 

Maria and Ten are not helping, sending elaborate winks and wiggling eyebrows whenever they pass each other. Even Sicheng is giving her thumbs up, and she’s not sure he understands the whole situation. 

She’s sitting with Jaehyun, Kun (who as usual, isn’t really there at all), and Taeyong at lunch. Ten told her to wait for her there earlier in the day because she has a math question. Taeyong is overtly distressed that Sicheng isn’t there and even bothers Kun enough about it that he looks up to tell him to fuck off. 

She’s trying very hard to keep up with her conversation with Jaehyun, but her heart is pounding in her ears so hard that she can’t hear anything else. This is all too much, and she’s going to burst. 

Jaehyun is currently asking if she’s sick and she can barely focus on what he’s saying when his fingers are carding through her hair. She’s imagining that he’s pushing it aside to kiss her instead of checking her forehead temperature. She finally snaps out of reverie long enough to shake her head before the room explodes.

~ 

There’s this picture that both Jaehyun and Taeil had in their rooms, but they promised each other that they’d burn it. Neither did. The real question was, how the fuck did- never mind, Ten and Maria probably have magical powers from being legitimate demons. 

Plus, it’s hard to think of most anything when Jaehyun is kissing Taeil with his whole heart. 

The entire cafeteria is on their feet and cheering as they kiss, and Taeil has to break away because she’s giggling too hard. Jaehyun chuckles at her and pulls her into his chest. She used to hate it that he got taller than her, but she can’t say she minds now. Ten winks at her and waves the picture that is staring at her five thousand times over. 

It’s a picture of them at age 8 and age 5 respectively, holding hands and sharing a tiny kiss. They pushed it off as a “we were young” moment, especially since Jaehyun yelled about cooties afterwards and Taeil hid in the bathroom for a bit (read: an hour and a half) afterwards. 

Ten and Maria copied that picture almost a million times over and got the whole cheerleading squad to help cut them out. They figured out a way to blast the pictures into the whole goddamn cafeteria, like some ridiculous fog machine. 

Who knows where Ten and Maria got the supplies and time to do this ridiculous shit? And who really cares when Jaehyun is pulling her up again for another kiss?

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by taeil's miraculous cheerleading in nct life in paju  
> fueled by my incessant need for wintae  
> pls comment thx bye love u all xx


End file.
